Fluid valve



y 6, 1953 w. F. MITCHELL 2,539,884

FLUID VALVE Original Filed April 28, 1948 I Q 65 INVENTOR;

Patented May 26, 1953 1.

UNITED QFFICE V 2 ,639,8-54l"- I v FLU VALVE Wallace E, Mitchell; Chicago, Ill., assignor to B G-Gorpm'ation, chicagm lll 'a corporation o'f'Il-linois T Substituted feraband d apr at on rial r 2.. ,1: 1 8, 94 Th epr cafi n M vi 1.9. 11, Semi; 052233 s elaims; ((11.251-137) This application is'a' substitute for my aban- 'Fig'. 5-is a fragnientary'view partially in cross cloned application Serial 233769, filed April section showing. a: modified form of valve head 3:948, for Fluidvalve. andthe man'ner of mounting it on the valve stem; My invention relatesto fluid valves and has and 1 I to do pa-rticu-larlya new and improved'valve k5 Fig. 6 is -a diagrammatic view illustrating one which is simple in construction and easy to applieation-oithe valive ina hydraulic system;

manufacture and which has im-prm'led operating I have found that-where a valve of the type characteristics. I "having a stem extending out of the valve'hous- An object of my invention is-to providea'valve ing and exposed to atmospheric pressure at only wherein the operation of the-valve is'gindepend- L0 one end thereof isused for opening and closing ent of any difference which mavexist between a conduit containing atluid under substantially the fluid pressure within the 'valve and :the atgreater than:atmospheriepressure, the valvestem mospheric pressure. head carried thereby are subject to creeping Another object is to provide a jfiuid valve-in ordriftingtoward a position wherein there is a which the valve head doesnot creep out of a maximum volumenof the valve stem protruding set position ,by reason o'ilany difference in'pre'sfrom the valve housing. This creeping results sure which may exist "between the fluid in the froin th-e force-exerted on the valve head and valve and the atmosphere. I stem 'hy the fluid pressures the valve housing Another object is to provide a valve wherein tendingto expel the stem from the housing and the atmospheric pressure on {the valve stem-is into atmospheric pressures.wh ieh are lower than fully balanced. the fluid pressures within the housing. While Still another object-is to provide a-fluidval've this creeping may be prevented by providing wherein the only force required to actuate "the "holdingmeans for the valve stem, or by increasvalve is that which is necessary tOflDVQi'COmQaIiy in-i: the strengtl i of the valvespring (whereaone difference in ,fiuid pressures on the-two sides of i5 is employed); such exne dients are not satisfac- -the valve "head, "the" "valve spring resistance; or mer y-m many instances as the first renders the friction. 'valve andjits actuating mechanism unduly com- ,A further objeetgis' to pgrovide a valve inwhioh ;p1ic-ated andthe second requires increased actuthe valve head issel'f-a1igriing. and fullly'seats ati ngforce. in the valve seat when in closedppsition .even o ifhe present invention providesgfor' balancing where inaccuracies of fit" or alignment of the the atmospheric pressure which is" exerted on partsmay'exist. the valve'stem whereby the positioningandmove- .suua rurthercpjectisitopmv d waiv which m a t latter r entirely n pe en is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and h any'diiierence-which may exist-betweenthepresassemble and which will operate satisfactorily 3-5 sure of the fluid in the valve housing and the without requiring close manufacturing 'toleratmosphere. To 'this' end, the'vag lve stem isexances. tended through-the valve casing on'both'sid'es of Another object is to "providea val which,;i the v v h e and e of ti p oj i e pernot e lysubi t tobind llgorntiffi i ejl ilm D h Stem a e f me W u f mnothe1=Q iect.is to p o ders va ve wh ch 40 fl e s i'heifi ph P u i te be readily disassembledfo -replacement or ad .flql ll'bf nl fith' n s of the valve stem. Thus,

.J'ustment of parts shouldsuqh ecom nece sary. eev Flifi em be we n e fl Pressure i i as for xample. .in the .case ..0,f dam ge-du i .iihe i Qasing e dthe e u efi theetmosabuse or Weardue gto a lo taken,along'linejw aof'F period of 15.51%

m gh'ere gei'feltive to move the valve s te m in O h ro i ct :andadvant' "n entian (u ct vparticularly' to Fig. 3 of the n 'rii de a hous n which ma ges o'f m w llepp ar fromthe inll wine. des r in.connectionwith.th ap endedy rawingiwhere- Figure 1 .isa sideelevational,view of one.form I of valveembodyingmyinvention;

Fig. 2.15 la-top plan .view ,of the .valveof Egg. l;

.Fig. .315 an.enIarsedWieWQf.a-re ical ectie iii- 2; Fig.5 i's a;fragmentary viewofz acigosssectipn includes 'ahpusing member or valve body in taken alonglinefl-dofi'ifi; '55 which preferably takes' the' form of a generally lugs and exposed to the atmosphere.

3 cylindrical main body portion H with lateral extensions l2 and |3 which may be threaded to receive conduit members or fittings therefor. A valve chamber I4 is formed, as by a bore, in the main body portion H and is open at one end. The open end of the valve chamber is closed by an end fitting or plug l5 which is threaded into the main body portion H and forms a portion of the housing. The plug is readily removable 4 the valve head on the stem 2| in one direction. A valve spring 33 is provided which bears at one end against the valve body I0 and at the other end against the head 29. The spring 33 thus serves both to urge the valve stem and head toward open position and to maintain the head yieldingly against thesna'p-ring 3|. A fluid seal is provided between the valve head 29 and the stem 2| which preferably takes the form of an O ring 34 surrounding the stem 2| and seated in a circumferential recess 35 in the valve head 29. The valve stem, head and spring are formed Leading from the valve chamber H at the end thereof opposite the open end is a right-angled passage I6 having a portion in alignment with the chamber l4 and a portion leading to a passage I! in the extension |2. A second passage l8 leads laterally from the chamber and through the extension [3.

The valve chamber I4. is of greater diameter than the passage I B leading therefrom, thereby providing a shoulder I9 of annular form which seat preferably is formed by a separate insert which takes the form of a ring 20 and which is snugly seated in the chamber I4 and against the shoulder I9. While the valve seat ring 20 may be formed of metal, I prefer to form it of a plastic material having sufficient strength and rigidity and sufiicientresistance to'the fluid with which-the valve is used. I prefer to use nylon, although for certain uses a synthetic resin such :as the copolymerized vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate sold under the trade name of Vinyl- .ite is also satisfactory. Synthetic plastics of the types mentioned are generally more satisfactory than metal since they are not subject to sticking under relatively high fluid pressures as is often found to be the case with metal valve seats when used with metal valve heads.

A valve stem 2| is slidably mounted in the hO11SlI1g' ll, suitable openings 22 and 23 being provided respectively in the body portion H and the end fitting l5 to receive the stem, the latter being projected entirely through these open- Suitable fiuid seals are provided between the stem and the housing which preferably take the form of 0 rings 24 and 25 seated in annular recesses 26 and 21 in the openings 22 and 23. The sealing rings 24 and 25 may be formed of any suitable resilient material which is resistant to wear and to the fluid with which the valve is used and of use.

A valve head 29 is carried on the valve stem 2| and is movable thereby into position against the seat 20 for closing the passage through the seat. The head preferably is formed as a ring having a conical face 30 adapted to abut the ring 20 with the forward portion of the valve head extending into the opening in the ring.

The valve head 29 may be rigidly mounted on the valve stem 2| and may be formed integrally therewith, or may be formed separately and secured to the stem. However, for reasons which will appear hereinafter, the head 29 preferably is separately formed and seated against a shoulder which preferably isprovided by a split snap ring 31 seated in a circumferential groove 32 formed in the valve stem 2|, thus providing a rigid abutment for preventing displacement of from a suitable material or materials and preferably steel is used for this purpose.

It has been noted that in conventional types of poppet valves where the head is integral with,

. or at least rigidly fixed to the valve stem, the

.may serve as a valve seat. However, the valve .valve head to seat against the valve seat.

head may not fully seat in the valve seat, as may happen when the parts are not accurately aligned or where wear has taken place. In accordance with the present invention, the valve head is made self-adjusting and self-aligning so that even should the parts be slightly out of alignment, the head will fully seat when moved to closed position. Accordingly, the valve head is mounted on the valve stem 2| for sufiicient universal rocking movement thereon so that when the valve head is moved into position against the seat 20, it willalign itself with the valve seat and fully seat to close the opening through the seat 20 even though the several parts of the valve may be slightly out of alignment. To provide this movability of the head, the circular surface 36 surrounding the opening through the valve head is formed convexly on a radius to permit a slight rocking movement of the head relative to the valve stem. Thus, it will be seen that when the valve stem and head are moved into seated position, the head will rock about the convex surf-ace, if necessary, in order to contact the seat 20 throughout a continuous circulararea of contact. It will be understood that the selfaligning action of the valve will take place even though the valve ring may be of very rigid material and rigidly mounted. In order to DTOVide vsmooth seating of the valve head, I preferably round off the edge'3| of the seat ring 20 although this is not necessary in all cases.

Various modifications in the details of. construction may be made in. the valve of my invention without departing from the invention.

For example, the valve head and stem may take the form shown in Fig. 5, to which reference now is made. The valve head 40 is provided with an inclined conical surface 4| and an opening 'the open-ended recess by a thrust washer 45 which is adapted to bear against a snap ring 46 secured in acircumferential groove 41 in the valve stem 48. The valve spring 49 may bear directly against. the valve head 40 in the manner shown in Fig. 3 and described above, or it may bear against a split snap ring 50 seated in a circumferential groove 5|. construction is employed, the snap ring 50 is of Where the latter such diameter as to enter the opening in the valve seat and permit'the inclined face of the In this construction, it will be seen that the valve aesassa.

head is entirely freeto rock and is independent of any unbalanced force which might be exsnap ring in a manner similar to that shown in Fig. 5.

It should be understood from the foregoing that the valve of the present invention lends itself to a wide variety of applications where it is desired to obtain the advantages of this novel type of valve. In order to more fully illustrate the valve of the present invention, it is shown in Fig. 6 in connection with its use as a strokelimiting valve, although it will be'understood thatthe valve is in no way limited to such use. As will" be understood, in certain types of devices, a hydraulic system is employed for controlling the position of a movable member and a stroke-limiting valve is incorporated in the hydraulic system in order to close the system and prevent further actuation of the driven member when it reaches a predetermined extreme position.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 6, there is illustrated diagrammatically a very simple form of hydraulic system embodying a valve 65 constructed in accordance with the present invention for raising and lowering a, Working member such as a plow 60 carried on a plow frame 6|. The plow 60 is connected to the frame 61 through a cylinder 62 and a piston rod 63 carryme a piston 64 slidable in the cylinder 62. Connected to the cylinder on opposite sides of the piston is a hydraulic line having therein a strokelimiting valve 65 constructed in accordance with the present invention, a pump 66 and a reservoir 61. Suitable control means (not shown) are provided for actuating the pump 66 in either a forward or reverse direction to cause the piston to move either to the left (as viewed in Fig. 6) to raise the plow 60, or to the right (as viewed in Fig. 6) to lower the plow 60. The plow is connected by a chain or cable 68 to the stem 69 of the valve 65 through a. spring 10.

When the plow is in raised position, the piston 64 is at the left hand end of its stroke and the cable 68 is slack permitting the valve to be urged into fully open position by the valve spring. When it is desired to lower the plow 60, the pump 66 is driven in a suitable direction to pump the hydraulic fluid through the system in a counter-clockwise direction (as viewed in Fig. 6) to cause the piston 64 to move to the right. When the plow 60 has reached the desired limit of its travel (as shown in Fig. 6), the cable 68 is drawn taut and moves the valve stem 69 to close the valve, thereby preventing further circulation of the hydraulic fluid. When it is desired to raise the plow, the pump is operated in a reverse direction to cause the piston to move to the left in its cylinder and, upon the initiation of such movement, the tension on cable 68 is released permitting the valve to be opened, whereby the fluid may be circulated freely through the system by the pump 66 to raise the plow 60. When the piston reaches the end of its travel, the pump is stopped by the operator.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that the present invention provides a valve having numerous advantages and which is suitable for anplication to a wide number of uses. The valve has a relatively small number of relatively simple parts which may be readily manufactured and assembled. Only a relatively small number of simple machine operations are-required in malt ing the parts. :Moreoveni the construction or the valve is such that it will operate satisfactorily for many uses withoutthe need for making it with a high degreeof accuracy and exact fit of the parts. i

The valve gxstem' eirtends through the valve housing and'proie'cts therefrom at. both ends whereby it is. exposed to atmospheric pressure at bothends. Accordingly, the valve stem and head jcarried thereby are fully balanced and hence will not exhibit any tendency to drift or creep even when relatively high fluid. pressures exist. in the valve housing. Moreover, sincethe valve is balanced with respect to the atmosphere, the op.- erationof the valve is.- independent of anydifference in pressure between the fluid within. the housing and the atmosphere. Thus, .the only force which is necessary to operate. the valve is the force necessary to overcome any pressure differential which may exist between the fluid on the two sides ofpthe, valve seat, the resistance of the valve spring, or friction.

Since the valve head is mounted for selfaligning movement on the stem, hence, even if the parts should happen to be out of alignment by reason of manufacturing inaccuracies or because of uneven wear, the valve would still function. The valve stem is fully and effectively sealed to prevent loss of fluid from the housing and the simple but sturdy mounting for the valve stem minimizes the likelihood of binding of the stem in the housing. In addition, the use of a synthetic resin valve seat ring prevents sticking of the valve against the seat as might otherwise occur were a metal valve seat employed, especially where the valve is subjected to relatively high fluid pressure.

I claim:

1. A fluid valve comprising a valve housing having a fluid passage therethrough, a circular valve seat in said housing and surrounding said passage, a valve stem slidably mounted in said housing and extending through said passage, a valve head on said stem with the stem extending ing through the valve head for movement of the valve head thereby into and out of seated position against said seat, said valve head including a ring having a tapered surface engageable with said valve seat and an internal annular recess and a resilient sealing element in the recess surrounding the valve stem in sealing engagement therewith, the inner surface of said ring being of greater diameter than the valve stem for permitting rocking movement of the ring on the valve stem, rigid stop means fixed on said valve stem on the other side of the valve head than the valve seat, and yieldable means urging the valve stem and valve head to open position.

2. A fluid valve comprising a valve housing having a fluid passage therethrough, a circular valve seat in said housing and surrounding said passage, a valve stem slidably mounted in said housing and extending through said passage, a valve head on said stem with the stem extending through the valve head for movement of the valve head thereby into and out of seated position against said seat, said valve head including a ring having a tapered surface engageable with said valve seat, an internal annular recess with axially spaced walls and a resilient sealing element in the recess surrounding the valve stem in sealing engagement therewith, the inner surface of said ring being of greater diameter than the valve stem for permitting rocking movement of the ring about the valve stem, rigid stop means fixed on said valve stem on the other side of the valve head than the valve seat, and a spring surrounding the valve stem compressed between the valve housing and valve head for urging the valve stem and valve head to open position.

3. A fluid valve comprising a valve housing having a fluid passage therethrough, a circular valve seat in said housing and surrounding said passage, a valve stem slidably mounted in said housing and extending through said passage, a valve head on said stem with the stem extending through the valve head for movement of the valve head thereby into and out ofvseated position against said seat, said valve head including a ring having a tapered surface engageable with said valve seat and an internal annular recess open at its rear end and defined at its forward end by a wall portion of the valve head and a resilient sealing element in the recess surrounding the valve stem in sealing engagement there with, the inner surface of said ring being of greater diameter than the valve stem for permitting rocking movement of the ring on the valve stem, a rigid washer element closing the rear open end of said recess, rigid stop means fixed on said valve stem on the other side of the valve head than the valve seat, rigid stop means fixed on the valve stem forwardly of the valve head spaced from the rear stop means a distance suflicient to permit limited axial sliding movement of the valve head on the valve stem, and a spring surrounding the valve stem compressed between the valve housing and forward stop means for urging the valve stem and valve head I to open position.

WALLACE F. MITCHELL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,111,391 Kneass Sept. 23, 1914 2,570,117 Hallstrand Oct. 2, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 388,902 Great Britain of 1933 

